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PCI=PCI 2.0=PCI Express???

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  • 02-03-2006 1:57am
    #1
    Carlimited
    Registered Users Posts: 91 ✭✭


    What is the difference between PCI, PCI 2.0, and PCI Express? I bought an nvidea video card last year, and the description states that it is a PCI 2.0. However, it fits into my PCI slot perfectly, and runs great. How can you tell if the slots are PCI, PCI 2.0 or PCI Express (or are they the same)? :confused:


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    #2
    8T8
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,757 ✭✭✭8T8


    PCI and PCI Express (shorthand = PCI-E or PCIe) are quite different.

    Within those interfaces there are revisions of the specification so PCI 2.0 is merely a revision of the PCI spec which is currently at v2.3 if I'm not mistaken.

    PCI slots are the regular white expansion slots that have been in motherboard for many many years, PCI-E on the other hand is a modern replacement for PCI it offers much more bandwidth then the PCI interface is scalable so you can have 1x slots for low end devices and 16x slots for graphics cards plus it offers more power to be drawn from the interface than PCI and generally removes all the bottlenecks that were plaguing the old PCI sub system.

    Here you can see an example of the interfaces from top to bottom;
    PCI-E x4 slot
    PCI-E x16 slot
    PCI-E x1 slot
    PCI-E x16 slot
    PCI slot (coloured yellow for effect but they are usually white)

    If you are not sure what kind graphics card you have right click the desktop and select NVIDIA display->your monitor and when the NV control panel comes up on the first page if you look down on the details under "Graphics card information" it has a "bus" listing it should say PCI or AGP or PCI Express.


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    #3
    po0k
    Registered Users Posts: 15,815 ✭✭✭✭po0k


    PCI V1.0 - 2.3 (maybe a later 2.4, dunno) = 32 bits wide, 33Mhz
    PCI64/PCIX = not strictly the same thing, but they're an extension of PCI, basicly double the bus width (64-bits wide) and double, quad or octuple clock speed (66Mhz, 133Mhz, 266Mhz and 533Mhz), usually found in servers and workstations.
    Now, within each of these 2 main groups, there are various versions and voltage selections. Most modern PCI cards will work in any PCI/PCIX slot they can fit into. Best to compare specs before buying. A bit of googling of model numbers/names should yield results.

    PCI-Express (NOT PCI-X) is as 8T8 described above.

    http://www.pcisig.com/ has all the info you could want. They write the standards. Literally.


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